A contempt of Court case has been filed against a Ugandan firm Sarrai Group ( Sarrai ) and Mumias Sugar receiver-manager PVR Rao (Rao), for disobeying high court orders suspending Mumias Sugar lease award.

The application is seeking Jail time for both Rao and Sarrai directors, as a new link has emerged between Sarrai and Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB).

The case was filed under a certificate of urgency at Milimani High Court by Tumaz and Tumaz Enterprises (Tumaz), which placed the highest bid of Shs 27.6 billion vs Sarrai's Shs 11.5 billion for Mumias lease.

The case was heard by Justice Jairus Ngaah on January 6 who directed the parties to appear for a hearing on Monday, January 10.

"The orders alleged to have been breached and which now form the foundation of contempt proceedings were made by Justice Anthony Ndungu, I direct that this matter be mentioned on January 10, 2022, before Justice Ndungu for directions and orders he may deem appropriate," ordered Justice Jairus Ngaah.

Tumaz argued that Sarrai Group had started work in earnest at the sugar miller despite a court order suspending the lease on December 29th, 2021, and was served to both Sarrai and Rao on December 30th and 31st according to court papers.

According to court papers, Sarrai which is associated with the Rai family has been on the ground since December 24 undertaking different activities including meeting with officials from Kenya Power in a bid to have electricity restored in the facility.

Sarrai also had a meeting with the engineers at the firm to discuss the ways of acquiring new spare parts to revive the milling plant and began recruitment of new staff in disregard of the court order.

And in a new twist in the breach of the court order, Sarrai manager presented exhibits in court with its alleged machinery and tractors ploughing Mumias nucleus estate.

The exhibits were presented early in the week in support of Sarrai's case challenging the court order.

Sarrai's application for lifting the suspension orders was dealt a blow when Justice Anthony Ndung'u at Milimani on Monday January 3rd, declined to lift the suspension orders.

In the documents filed by Sarrai in the earlier case, the pictures of tractors are shown in the breach of court orders, displaying number plates registered between 2012 and 2018 , that are owned by KCB , Kibos Sugar and Mumias according to NTSA motor vehicle records.

Copyright Capital FM. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com)., source News Service English